Psychology Chapter 7 Summary

Thinking and Cognition

• Thinking refers to using knowledge for analysis, problem-solving, and decision-making.
• Cognition encompasses acquiring, retaining, and using knowledge.

Mental Representations

• Involves two forms: mental images and concepts.
• Mental images are visual or sensory representations.
• Concepts are mental categories based on shared properties, including prototypes (most typical instance) and exemplars (specific instances).

Problem Solving

• Defined as thinking and behavior aimed at achieving inaccessible goals.
• Strategies include:
  • Trial and error
  • Algorithms (specific methods yielding correct solutions)
  • Heuristics (general rules of thumb)
  • Insight (sudden realization of a solution).

Decision-Making

• Strategies vary based on the type and number of options:
  • Single-Feature Model (focus on one feature)
  • Additive Model (evaluate all important features)
  • Elimination-by-Aspects Model (rating and eliminating based on features).

Language and Thought

• Language is a system for combining symbols into meaningful statements.
• Includes characteristics like expressiveness, structure, creativity, and communicative abilities.

Intelligence

• Defined as the ability to think rationally and effectively interact with the environment.
• Intelligence tests developed historically (e.g., Binet and Wechsler scales).

Genetics and Environment in Intelligence

• Both contribute to intelligence, with complex interactions.
• Heritability estimates suggest ~50% of IQ variation is genetic.

Bias in Intelligence Testing

• Cultural bias and discrimination affect test scores.
• Methods like Raven’s Progressive Matrices are used to assess intelligence more equitably.